I Gave You a Chance, but You Were Useless!

"Alas!"

As an aged sigh came from Xiao Yan's ring, his aura began to surge wildly. In mere moments, it had reached the level of a Dou Ling.

"What is this?!"

"Why has Third Brother's cultivation risen so quickly?"

Xiao Ding and Xiao Li were clearly stunned by Xiao Yan's sudden change.

Their eyes were filled with disbelief.

Seeing their expressions, Xiao Yan curled his lips into a faint smile and said calmly, "Big Brother, Second Brother, you should believe that I have that strength now, right?"

After studying Xiao Yan for a while, Xiao Li forcibly suppressed the unease in his heart and suddenly asked, "Little Yan, can this condition of yours last long?"

"Don't worry, Second Brother. I'm very enduring!" Xiao Yan patted his chest and guaranteed.

The next day.

Within Stone Desert City, inside a manor even larger than the Desert Iron Mercenary Group's headquarters.

A bare-chested, well-built youth was practicing Dou Techniques in one of the courtyards.

Suddenly, two middle-aged men radiating bloodthirsty auras appeared at the entrance to the courtyard.

Seemingly sensing their arrival, the tall youth gradually stopped his movements. The two maidservants standing not far behind him immediately hurried forward. One carefully wiped away the sweat left by his training, while the other thoughtfully helped him put on an exquisite robe that looked like a work of art.

This robe was an alchemist's robe, something only alchemists of honored status within the Jia Ma Empire were qualified to wear. The insignia on the youth's robe showed that he had reached the realm of a Third-grade Alchemist.

This tall youth was Liu Ling, whom Gu He had sent to the Tagor Desert for training. Not long after arriving in Stone Desert City, he had quickly established the Senior Disciple Mercenary Group in order to complete the task Gu He had assigned him.

At the beginning, the Senior Disciple Mercenary Group had only two or three members. However, under Liu Ling's leadership, they returned laden with rewards from nearly every expedition.

Gradually, other mercenary groups began to obstruct them. But once Liu Ling displayed his overwhelming strength, every mercenary group that targeted him was dealt with one after another.

After that, the Senior Disciple Mercenary Group developed increasingly quickly. Before long, the strength of its members was comparable to that of the three established mercenary groups in Stone Desert City.

Such momentum naturally drew the attention of those three groups. The Storm Mercenary Group, ranked third among them, was the first to lose patience and attempted to swallow the Senior Disciple Mercenary Group in one move. The result was predictable. The Storm Mercenary Group's leader could not even last two moves against Liu Ling before being defeated, and the Storm Mercenary Group's territory was taken over by the Senior Disciple Mercenary Group.

What followed was the Sand Mercenary Group joining forces with the Desert Iron Mercenary Group to act against Liu Ling.

At this moment, after the two maidservants had helped him dress, Liu Ling glanced at the two middle-aged men standing at the courtyard entrance and said indifferently, "What is it? Speak."

"Commander, the Snake People Tribe has been making increasingly frequent movements these past few days. This subordinate suspects that they may launch an attack on the Empire's territory soon," one of them replied respectfully.

"The Snake People Tribe?"

Hearing the middle-aged man's report, Liu Ling pondered briefly before saying, "Pass some of the intelligence we have gathered to the Empire's military. There is very little our mercenary group can do in a war of that scale."

"Yes, this subordinate will carry out the commander's orders at once!" After respectfully replying, the middle-aged man left the courtyard.

"Cassida, do you have something to report?"

Seeing that the other middle-aged man was still standing at the entrance, Liu Ling continued.

"Reporting to the commander, the three-day deadline has passed, yet the Desert Iron Mercenary Group has not withdrawn from the city as you instructed," Cassida said in a low voice.

"The Desert Iron Mercenary Group... I gave you a chance, but you were useless." Liu Ling muttered softly upon hearing Cassida's report.

"Come. Follow me to the south of the city."

With a flick of his sleeve, Liu Ling strode out of the courtyard. The two graceful maidservants followed closely behind him.

At the manor's entrance, an imposing carriage had long been prepared. Behind it, more than thirty capable mercenaries waited on horseback.

"Greetings, Commander!"

When Liu Ling reached the entrance, the thirty-odd mercenary experts dismounted together and bowed to greet him.

"Mm."

Liu Ling nodded slightly and slowly boarded the carriage with the two maidservants.

"Set off!"

After that command came from within the carriage, the thirty-odd mercenaries swiftly mounted their horses and followed the carriage as it sped down the broad streets.

Before long, the carriage arrived before the Desert Iron Mercenary Group's headquarters in the southern part of the city.

"Commander, this is bad! The Senior Disciple Mercenary Group is here!"

The instant the carriage arrived, a startled cry rang out from within the Desert Iron Mercenary Group's compound.

The three brothers of the Desert Iron Mercenary Group had already heard the urgent sound of hoofbeats. They quickly rushed to the entrance and fixed their eyes on the luxurious carriage ahead.

As a pair of fair, delicate hands lifted the carriage curtain, a tall youth slowly stepped out.

On Xiao Yan's side, the moment he clearly saw Liu Ling's face, he was inwardly shocked.

Originally, after hearing Xiao Ding and Xiao Li describe the cultivation of the Senior Disciple Mercenary Group's commander, he had guessed that this person might be a young man around thirty.

But now, it seemed that the person before him was only a few years older than him at most.

As his gaze lowered, the alchemist's robe worn by the youth atop the carriage immediately caught Xiao Yan's attention.

"That is... the insignia only a Third-grade Alchemist can wear!"

"A Third-grade Alchemist actually exists in such a remote borderland."

With only one glance at the youth on the carriage, huge waves had already risen in Xiao Yan's heart. At that moment, Elder Yao suddenly reminded him.

"Little Yan, this youth looks only seventeen or eighteen, yet his cultivation is merely one step away from entering the Dou Ling realm. He is a rare genius!"

"What?!"

"One step away from becoming a Dou Ling?!"

Hearing Elder Yao's reminder, Xiao Yan was even more shocked. Xiao Ding and Xiao Li had previously only said that this person might be above a Three-star Great Dou Master, but he had never expected his true cultivation to be at the peak of the Nine-star Great Dou Master realm.

With such terrifying cultivation speed, there were probably only a few people like him in the entire Jia Ma Empire!

At this moment, Xiao Yan's gaze toward Liu Ling suddenly became full of wariness.

After stepping out of the carriage, Liu Ling looked at the two commanders of the Desert Iron Mercenary Group standing at the entrance. With a trace of mockery at the corner of his lips, he slowly said, "Xiao Ding, Xiao Li, the three-day deadline has passed. It seems you have no intention of leaving."